Tag: ETV1000

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Triennial reflections

Another couple of ticks of the great celestial clock will see the Capo and I celebrating our third anniversary. Something of a miracle, as over the years my bikes have averaged about 12 months each. In fact the Capo now equals the previous record holder – the Triumph Trophy 1200 and will no doubt storm on ahead to claim the crown.

So why have I kept it so long? Well, truthfully, a few reasons …. moving to Italy and a change in lifestyle for one. Secondly, riding motorbikes was no longer to be my source of daily income, but mostly because it’s a damn good all-round machine that suits my riding style at this time in my life.

By sheer luck I heard about an RR languishing in a garage in Southern France, UK-registered and unbelievably low mileage. Contact was made, photographs were emailed and finally on a dismal day at the dawn of 2008, I said goodbye to the Blackbird and stood freezing my nuts off admiring the RR, freshly delivered from Lyon to Oxford. Within 24 hours we were  off the ferry and tanking down through France together, panniers fit to burst and a spare pair of tyres strapped on for good measure …. this was most certainly going to be a make-or-break relationship.

Well of course we bonded … and three years and over 30K later I can’t see me  changing  it just yet. Simply put, the Capo works fantastically as a luggage toting motorway mile-muncher and even better on the mountain  roads where its flexibility and torque by the bucket give me all the fun I can handle. And yes, there’s no getting away from the fact that it tips the scales at a knee trembling 250Kg … but it’s still surprisingly usable off-road, like anything, you just have to get used to it!

I’d like to end by saying that in today’s world, the internet plays its part in the ‘ownership package’, and on that point the support and friendship of the AF1 Caponord forum is second to none … if you’re in the market for a Capo,  don’t read the rag-mags, or listen to anecdotal “I had a mate who…..”, visit the forum and get genuine first hand info. Some of these guys have topped 100,000 miles!

So what’s 2011 going to bring …. maybe a trip back to the UK, but the jewel in the crown looks like it might be the ACIM Caponord International meeting in Portugal. If it all comes together, we’ll overnight in Barcelona on the way and maybe, just maybe, we can rumble into the Gothic Quarter and quaff an ice cold beer at Bar del Pi ….. bliss!!!

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Who could forget ‘Little Tibet’

Over the past few weeks the old Capo has had its ECU (brain!) pummelled, all in the name of research. The release of  the freeware program – TuneECU, saw a flurry of activity as some of us tested its functionality against the long-serving TuneBoy package.  I can say without conviction, it works, it’s stable …. in fact it’s now my programming tool of choice for the Capo.

So on a lovely sunny and warm Friday, while Jan was away in Rome, I decided it was about time the Capo got a run to make sure everything was ok and it wasn’t short of a few marbles after all the brain surgery. I wasn’t sure how low the snow line was  on the Gran Sasso, but I guessed it was worth a look.

Duly suited’n booted I headed out toward Farindola, then detoured through Macchie and Vicenne on some very narrow and deserted mountain tracks. The heavy scent of damp woodland giving way to a wonderful aroma of burning logs as I skimmed past lonley building not yet abandoned to the mountain. Back at the main road I turned west, climbing through Rigopano and the eerily atmospheric woodlands, finally popping out at the top with a view of Campo Imperatore (Little Tibet) that never ceases to amaze. When I left home it had been a balmy 19ºC, now it was down to 3ºC …. the ‘Halvarssons’ suit kept me toasty and it was a good excuse to test the heated grips!

The roads coming up are sadly in a terrible state and made all the worse with lots of leaf mulch and a fair sprinkling of rocks and bits of tree. They are however thankfully quiet … I only saw one other vehicle on the way up, so you can take advantage of the whole road to pick the best bits. The roads on the West side though are another story, sweeping bends, fantastic surfaces and excellent visibility.

I stopped for a while, just enjoying the tranquillity before heading down to Castel del Monte, a quick refuel then onward to Villa Santa Lucia Degli Abruzzi, Offena, Brittoli and towards home before dark. If I said I saw half a dozen vehicles the whole way, I’d be exaggerating! In the end I’d really tried hard to stick to bobbling along in ‘tourist’ mode ….. I couldn’t resist it any longer ….. I just had to go back up the road, turn around and give those bends a damn good spanking! The Capo runs beautifully, pulling like a train and happily using the extra 1,000 RPM before the rev limiter kicks in. Only thing to sort out is a slightly nervous tickover,  a smidgin more fuel added on the ‘Idle trim’ should sort that out. Happy days!

Back in the barn, the Capo is contentedly ticking away to itself as it cools down, while I tweak the map in the ECU one last time. Then it’s lights out, night-night old girl ….. till tomorrow.